Abstract The oases of Morocco, located between the Mediterranean and the Sahara ecoregions, constitute the main defence system of the temperate region against desert encroachment. This study aims to determine species richness and distribution of native and non-native ants in the oases of southern Morocco. Survey campaigns were conducted in 11 oases between March and May 2017. Thirty-four ant species belonging to 13 genera and three subfamilies were collected. The regional catalogue of Formicidae is enriched by 27 new species (total 44 species) and five were listed as non-native species (11.4% of diversity). The most frequent species is Pheidole pallidula and the richest oasis is Allogoum (containing 11 species of which two are exotic and three are native and exclusively detected here). Of the 11 studied oases, only four were free from non-native ant species. Regression-based methods indicated that species diversity of non-native ants is related to water availability and total flow rate of sources, and only total flow rate of sources for all species combined. All correlations become non-significant when non-native species are removed from analyses, suggesting a recent colonisation and early invasion. Water availability is necessary to maintain local myrmecological diversity. This study sets the basis for future identification of the impacts of non-native ants on the ecological integrity of oasis ecosystem and to establish conservation measures.

中文翻译：

---

蚂蚁入侵沙漠：摩洛哥干旱绿洲中的非本地物种

摘要 摩洛哥绿洲位于地中海和撒哈拉生态区之间，是温带地区抵御沙漠侵蚀的主要防御系统。本研究旨在确定摩洛哥南部绿洲中本地和非本地蚂蚁的物种丰富度和分布。调查活动于 2017 年 3 月至 5 月期间在 11 个绿洲进行。收集了属于 13 个属和 3 个亚科的 34 种蚂蚁。蚁科区域目录增加了 27 个新物种（共 44 个物种），其中 5 个被列为非本地物种（多样性的 11.4%）。最常见的物种是 Pheidole pallidula，最丰富的绿洲是 Allogoum（包含 11 种，其中 2 种是外来物种，3 种是本地物种，仅在此处发现）。在研究的 11 个绿洲中，只有四个没有非本地蚂蚁物种。基于回归的方法表明，非本地蚂蚁的物种多样性与水的可用性和来源的总流量有关，并且只有所有物种的来源总流量相结合。当从分析中移除非本地物种时，所有相关性都变得不显着，这表明最近的殖民和早期入侵。水的可用性对于维持当地生态多样性是必要的。本研究为未来确定外来蚂蚁对绿洲生态系统生态完整性的影响和制定保护措施奠定了基础。当从分析中移除非本地物种时，所有相关性都变得不显着，这表明最近的殖民和早期入侵。水的可用性对于维持当地生态多样性是必要的。本研究为未来确定外来蚂蚁对绿洲生态系统生态完整性的影响和制定保护措施奠定了基础。当从分析中移除非本地物种时，所有相关性都变得不显着，这表明最近的殖民和早期入侵。水的可用性对于维持当地生态多样性是必要的。本研究为未来确定外来蚂蚁对绿洲生态系统生态完整性的影响和制定保护措施奠定了基础。